A Tale of 4 Chickens, Part 1

Once in awhile, I like to cook a meal just for the enjoyment of cooking.  Most often, however, I just want to get supper crossed off my list and on the table so I can do other things. This doesn't mean I want to throw together something from a box, but rather prepare a quick-enough meal that is healthy, economical, delicious and has minimal clean-up.                                                                                            Bulk cooking is a great way to accomplish this.  Let me warn you, though, I am not one of those super women who cooks for a weekend and then has meals for a month.  I glean from them, but my approach is to cook a few times a week in large quantities and then freeze the extra, or to prepare partial meals in advance.  This works better for me because I often purchase a side of beef and I don't want to thaw the meat, bulk prepare meals, and then refreeze.  I also like to save freezer space and use foods that are in season.  I believe bulk cooking partial meals allows me to do this.

 Let me illustrate with some chickens.  At about 1:30 p.m., I placed 4 chickens in a roaster pan, sprinkled them with a little salt, and went off to do other things.  I allowed them to cook at 350 F degrees, for about 4 hours, or until the juices ran clear.  (I do turn them in the pan, 180 degrees, about 1/2 way through because 1/2 of the chicken is touching the inside edge of the roaster pan and this helps the chickens cook more evenly.)  I like to cook them just until they reach their safe temp. because I find the meat to be very tender and juicy, and still full of flavor.

This does not mean you must go purchase a roaster pan or that you have to cook 4 chickens.  Use a crock-pot, roast them in the oven, do rotisserie, or load up the grill.  Also, if you want to do only 2 chickens, or 3, or 6, the point is to use whatever method you like, to prepare however many chickens you want, so that you can skip cooking chicken some time in the future.


Once my chickens were cooked, I removed 3 of them to cool and cut up the 4th for supper.  I prepared boxed stuffing, canned corn, and fresh strawberries, and supper was on the table in about 10 minutes.  It didn't get an A+ for being a perfectly healthy meal, but it was economical, fast, tasty, and still much healthier than eating out. 

Since supper was so easy, I could now turn my energy toward the other chickens.  I removed the meat from the bones, and tossed the bones and skin back into the roaster pan.  I portioned the meat into labeled freezer bags in 2 Cup (16 oz.) quantities, and my job was complete.  I now have chicken ready for 4-6 future meals.

"Yes, but what about all that icky skin and bones.........?"  I hope you will come back tomorrow for Part 2.  We are going to make what chefs refer to as Liquid Gold.  It is so easy.

Think you can do this?  I know you can!Thanks for stopping by,
Ellie